HEBRON ― After three consecutive playoff seasons, resulting in three postseason wins, West Muskingum had to wait an extra day to get the bad taste of last year’s 5-5 finish out of its mouth.
So when the Tornadoes took the Calhoun Memorial Field turf on a muggy Aug. 22 afternoon against Route 40 rival Lakewood, since flooding postponed the Football Friday night opener, they were literally champing at the bit to get going.
“Last season did not meet our expectations. So we wanted to get off to the right kind of start,” said senior linebacker-tight end Cooper McKenzie, whose ferocious tackling and blocking helped fire West’s 51-0 win, which included a 34-0 halftime lead and second-half running clock. “I love hitting people. It’s my favorite part of the game for sure, and we came out prepared and were going all out.”
Sophomore Jake Welch, playing in place of injured starting quarterback Noah Morrison, was an efficient 10-of-11 for 238 yards and two touchdowns, while junior Dente Tyson racked up 147 yards on 18 carries with three TDs. The Tornadoes’ defense had three interceptions and pounced on two fumbles, returning one of them for a score.
“Jake came out and played pretty well, putting the ball in places where he could let his receivers make plays,” said coach Nate Brownrigg, who has significantly elevated the expectations of a once downtrodden program. “Carter Smith (6-foot-2, 190-pound senior wide receiver-linebacker) can really do some things with the ball in his hands, and he’s really gotten in the shape where he can play well on both sides of the ball.”
You didn’t have to tell first-year Lakewood coach Jeremy Walpole.
“They have big, physical receivers who are hard to tackle in the open field,” he said. “They make plays, turning little 5-yard passes into touchdowns.”
Smith’s 25-yard score on a reverse, following a crushing block by McKenzie who took his defender all the way to the track, came after Tyson’s early 4-yard TD and pushed the visitors up 14-0 at the end the first quarter. Then, he turned a short pass along the sidelines into a 72-yard touchdown sprint near the end of the first half.
“You have to love that effort, constantly forcing the action out there, and he’s going 110 miles per hour all of the time,” Smith said of McKenzie. “It felt good, scoring those touchdowns, and it felt even better, just getting to play today. We didn’t want our season to be down to nine games.”
The youthful Lancers, with a small roster and only two seniors on the field, had their moments early on.
Junior Lukka Vines turned a swing pass from classmate Cohen Shinault into 26 yards on their first play. After junior Ashton Tackett’s pressure forced a West holding penalty, and senior Layton Triplett’s third-down pass breakup led to a short Tornado punt, Lakewood took over at the West 19 down just 7-0.
But on the first play, McKenzie knifed through, knocked the ball carrier backward and Emilio Castro recovered the fumble.
“Cooper is a weight room guy, who pushes everyone else and you know he’s going to show up and play hard,” Brownrigg said.
Logan Serdy, who earlier caught a 31-yard pass following back-to-back 20-yard runs by Tyson, hauled in an 18-yarder to set up Tyson’s 5-yard scoring run early in the second. That came after Grady Dollings turned an out route into a 26-yard gain.
“He (Serdy) is just a sophomore, and we’re really excited about him, as an inside linebacker and solid wide receiver,” Brownrigg said.
Welch later found Cohen McConnell on a 34-yard touchdown strike, when he shed a tackler on the sideline and broke into the clear. McConnell, Jason Nestleroad and Hayden Wakefield all had second-quarter interceptions. Tyson had a 14-yard scoring burst starting the third quarter, Brooks McCune booted a 38-yard field goal, and Kris Johnson ran a fourth-quarter fumble 13 yards into the end zone. McCune was 6-of-6 on extra points.
Smith caught three passes for 97 yards and Dollings three for 43 yards.
The Tornadoes suffered a big blow early in the second quarter, when senior center Tristen McKenzie was carted off with a possible broken ankle.
“He had to miss last year with an elbow injury, and as a sophomore he broke the same ankle,” lamented Brownrigg. “It’s just terrible.”
The Lancers were held to minus yards rushing and completed 15-of-22 passes for 69 yards, including 3-of-5 by sophomore Adam Bebout. Vines had six receptions for 38 yards and sophomore Jaxson Hollar four for 20. Shinault shook loose for runs of 16 and 11 yards. Triplett recovered a West fumble at his 1-yardline, after he had stripped the ball free.
Despite West dressing over 60 players, twice as many as his Lancers, Walpole is staying positive he tries to build the program.
“Everyone knew it wasn’t going to happen overnight, and we’re taking a next play mentality,” he said. “We needed a leader and someone with command of the offense, and with his scrambles and run pass option, Cohen (Shinault) is that guy. We feel we can move the ball, when we do things the right way and we do things with 100% mentality. We have playmakers we can get on the edge.”
dweidig@gannett.com
740-704-7973
X: @grover5675
Instagram: @dfweidig
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Worth the wait, as Tornadoes storm into Lakewood for opening triumph
Reporting by Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate | USA TODAY Network
